It's Not Just What You Know, But Who You Know

Ok, so I'm not talking schmoozing your way up the corporate ladder or getting appointed to choice political positions based on befriending the powers that be (Miers, anyone?). First, a little background: My dad is a great guy. He worked hard at IBM/Big Blue/ Daddy-of-Computers-Before-Those-Other-Guys-Came-Along for 35 years this year (though now he's with Lenovo, but that's not very relevant here). He has helped my siblings and I through our school years with sage advice and near, though not ungentle, constant prodding to be the best we could be. My mom played an equally important role in our upbringing and education, but I'll tell her story later. During this time, it seemed as though he had few hobbies besides reading, playing bridge, watching TV, and listening to the radio. As long as I've known him, he never seriously played any sports though he often accompanied us on the tennis and occasionally on the basketball courts.
I knew he had an interest in golf, but never saw any significant manifestation of it until recently. All of a sudden (and of course while the three of us are merrily off at college and not at home to keep an eye on him), he buys over $300 worth of golf clubs, gloves, balls, shoes, and tees. We were stunned. This is a guy seldom spends more than $50 on any shopping trip and watches his finances very carefully. Here's a man who took us to a driving range a few times and never watches golf on television. In short, my dad went from Mr. No-Real-Hobby to Mr. Amateur-Golf-Enthusiast in a matter of days. It's amazing what you miss when you don't live at home anymore. I think it's a change for the better except that he bought left-handed clubs and my sister and I are right-handed; though this is no real problem for me since I don't care much for the game, but Sachi sure would've loved to swing a few with those clubs.
Anyway, we were talking about connections. Although the clubs are useless to me, one of the men my dad plays with has turned out to be a goldmine of information and help concerning my (still hopefully) upcoming trip abroad. Mr. Sunil Patel, former British solicitor (lawyer for most of you) and current hotel/motel owner lived in London for some time and has family and friends there. When he found out I might be going to study in London, he immediately offered help and advice; where to go, what places to avoid after dark. And of course, typical Indian hospitality: "I'll have someone pick you up at the airport, and you can stay at my brother's house for a night" before I fly off to meet Saket in Sweden or wherever he'll be at the time. Ah, how great is that? Mr. Patel said that there are some people my age I can meet up with, so maybe we can go traveling together (it ain't safe now, nor never really has been unfortunately, for a gal to bum around foreign countries by herself). Anyway, this man is wonderful and now makes me all the more impatient to hear back from King's ('cause now there's one more person I could disappoint by not getting in).

And now for something completely different.

I created this blog in imitation of my brother's (which you can visit at http://saketvora.blogspot.com ; yes, I even used the same server...but hey, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right?) and like him, I don't want to just fill it with King's information despite the title. Everyone could use a soapbox, open microphone, blank wall, empty page, or a few free megabytes of webspace to just express themselves without reproof, restraint, or rebuttal. The art of listening is diminishing in our society as many strive to simply out-talk the other instead of really listening to what the other has to say. Some people just need to be heard. To stifle our ideas is to slowly kill them and yet we must regulate their expression in order to maintain an orderly society. One should not stand up in a movie theater and start loudly describe their life story to the audience. That's just not appropriate. Blogs, however, are a rather novel and effective way to soapbox in the 21st century. So if you came here just for King's, I'll try to make it obvious which posts are about King's and which are me just speechifying. :)
Having said that, I have nothing more to say at the moment. Well, not really; I'm hungry. So, for now...Cheers!